Many of the health disparities in the US are linked to income. In general… the lower a family’s income the greater the prevalence of health disparities. Health impacts from smoking cigarettes are no exception. Arizonans below the poverty line (100% of FPL) are 40% more likely to smoke than those with more money... and about 34% of [...]
Our focus groups with young tobacco users across Arizona has found that teen and young adult smokers are different from adult smokers. Young smokers may not smoke daily and don't see themselves as smokers. They also aren’t receptive to the idea of needing help to quit. Many teen and young adult smokers believe that they can quit at [...]
Tobacco is one of the most difficult addictions to break. A successful tobacco quitter can make on average 10 attempts before they’re able to finally kick the habit. This week we launched Project Quit, a new initiative developed in partnership with the Arizona Smokers Helpline a.k.a. ASHLine to showcase the tobacco quit process. Project Quit follows [...]
Surveillance is a cornerstone of public health practice because it gives us the tools we need to identify priorities and craft effective interventions to improve outcomes. Cancer surveillance is no exception. Our Arizona Cancer Registry tracks and monitors the number and types of cancer cases in the state and publishes reports periodically. Our new report [...]
One of the most important aspects of public health is sharing effective, creative ideas with other public health agencies so more people can benefit from what we learn. Each year the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials highlights really good programs with their Vision Awards. This year, they selected 2 from Arizona to share [...]
This week is Men’s Health Week - the worldwide event happens every year before Father’s Day calling attention to the issues that affect men’s health. Many groups take the opportunity to talk about men’s health – we should be thinking about our health every week. The top health issues that impact men’s health are also [...]
A new Ohio State University study found smokers cost businesses about $6,000 more than nonsmokers every year. The researchers used the cost of increased absenteeism, lost productivity, smoke breaks and health care to reach the $6K/year figure – not surprisingly, smoke breaks account for the biggest share of the cost. More and more businesses are creating stronger worksite wellness programs. Arizona, for example, has [...]
Continuing with the success of last year’s landmark national tobacco education campaign- the CDC is launching “Tips from Former Smokers” which will run in Arizona through the end of June. The media campaign showcases the real and devastating effects of smoking & secondhand smoke. The ads feature people with smoking-related health conditions and candidly describe the [...]
Today is the 37th Annual Great American Smokeout®. Sponsored by the American Cancer Society, the annual event challenges smokers to start the quit process by joining thousands of other Americans in quitting for the day. The thought being - if you can quit for a day, you can quit for life. Across the state the Arizona [...]
One of the things you learn in business school is the importance of using the concept of a “target market” as a core of your business marketing plan. That’s what we do when it comes to tobacco cessation. We examine our tobacco surveillance data and look at demographic patterns for target populations and look for the [...]
